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Do your pedals cost more than your basses?

Do your pedals cost more than your basses?

  • Total voters
    212
Alfonso Alba

Alfonso Alba

Jul 9, 2017
559
956
SLP, Mexico
facproductions.net
#1
I'm a bass newbie, having just started two and a half years ago. For the first year, I did my best to focus on the bass and stay away from effects, but I come from an electronic music / synth background so I knew I would eventually try "a few". Oh, how naive I was. I just bought a new pedal (Digitech Drop) and realized I have now spent more money on pedals than on basses. What's even worse, I have a considerable list of pedals I'd like to get in the future, but no interest in a new bass. It's like falling down the modular rabbit hole all over again, and it's scary.
 
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#6
Dave W said:
Music is an expensive hobby in general. I don't even wan tot think about how much I've spent. Guitars, basses, amps, pedals, recording equipment, lighting, live sound, drums, etc.
Click to expand...

Yeah, tell me about it. I've kept it cool with the bass gear.... the sum of all my basses, pedals and amp doesn't come close to what I have invested in synths... but I've been playing synths for 20 years and bass for two.

The other thing with pedals is that I'm not just using them for bass; two of them are mostly used with my eurorack synth, and the looper is quite fun to use with mostly anything (acoustic and electronic percussion, keyboards, mics, etc). That sort of counters the pedals/bass balance a bit.
 
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#7
Currently one electric, one acoustic-electric fretless- probably approaching about even...

Next two pedals will probably put pedal expenditures over the top.

Keys, amps, PA and recording gear, guitars and mandolins over the years would put one of my kids through at least a year at an Ivy League institution- they don't need to necessarily know that though;)
 
#8
I have more money into my pedalboard than I have spent on any one bass. It's easier to spend a lot without noticing when you're doing it in smaller increments. A $1,000 bass is a big purchase for me, but spending $150 on a pedal doesn't seem so bad... Until you start finding pedals under the bed, in the dishwasher, tucked away under the seat of your car, etc... :roflmao:
 
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#10
While I have spent quite a bit on pedals over the years, I have definitely spent more on basses. I have expensive tastes in both.
I've probably spent more on pedals than amps or cabs. Definitely more on basses that amps and cabs combined.
 
#15
lz4005 said:
I'd be more interested in what people actually bring to a gig, rather than comparing collections.

Mine is about 50/50 on gig day. My board is about $500 worth of stuff. My main gigging basses were more than that, but I have a couple that I play out that were less.
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If gigging club tomorrow:
$800 in one bass,
$1200 ish in pedals, not counting board or power supply.
$900-ish amp.
 
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#17
Maybe?

In total, 60+ pedals for guitar and bass, so definitely more expensive. But many of my pedals are bought for “secondary board” usage, and not for my main board. If we’re talking my “main board”, it’s much closer to even between 3 low to mid level basses and about 15 pedals from cheap to boutique brands.
 
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#18
I, too, was a "bass into amp" guy and I still think that a clean, simple signal chain has a lot of merits - mainly, focusing on the playing rather than the gear. That said, I own a Line 6 Helix that I bought used for under $1000 USD - it's more expensive than both of my Ibanez basses together (also bought used).

Pedals definitely get costly. Owning four to six boutique pedals can definitely get you into the $2000 range; today's multiFX and looper stuff will definitely break your bank. Buy used when you can.
 
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#19
lz4005 said:
I'd be more interested in what people actually bring to a gig, rather than comparing collections.

Mine is about 50/50 on gig day. My board is about $500 worth of stuff. My main gigging basses were more than that, but I have a couple that I play out that were less.
Click to expand...

This.

On bass, my gear is pretty even. Though my bass is worth significantly more than I paid. But when I look at what I brought to my last gig, it's pretty split between bass, amp, and board.

Come to think of it, I'm pretty evenly split on guitar too. My guitar stuff is just more expensive.
 

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